Meaning & use
mattock
Last updated
UK/ˈmætək/
US/ˈmætək/
Meaning
nouncountable
A heavy hand tool like a pickaxe with a flat blade on one side, used for breaking hard ground and cutting roots.
Grammar: Countable: a mattock, two mattocks.
Patterns
- dig with a mattock
- swing a mattock
He swung the mattock to loosen the clay before planting the tree.
The crew used a mattock to chop through the thick roots.
A rusty mattock hung on the barn wall.
Word forms
| plural | mattocks |
|---|
Common combinations
- swing a mattock
- She swung a mattock into the frozen soil.
- dig with a mattock
- We dug the trench with a mattock.
- mattock handle
- The mattock handle splintered in his hands.
- sharpen a mattock
- He sharpened the mattock before spring work.
Synonyms and how they differ
- pickaxe
- A pickaxe has a pointed end on both sides, while a mattock has a flat adze blade on one.
- grub hoe
- A grub hoe is a lighter tool for cutting roots, and it is closer to a mattock in design.
- adze
- An adze shapes wood with a curved blade, and it is not used to dig soil.
- spade
- A spade lifts and moves soil but cannot break hard ground the way a mattock can.
Word family
Commonly confused: mattock or matlock?
mattock vs matlock
Matlock is a town name and not a tool; the digging tool is spelled mattock.
Practice
Which job is a mattock best suited for?
Choose one answer.
A mattock is a heavy digging tool for hard soil and roots. A hammer would do nails, which is the tempting wrong option.
Make it your own
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